The Houston Astros are in danger of being swept by the Chicago White Sox; a phrase no one believed could ever escape their lips. Although the best team in baseball is missing Carlos Correa, the South Siders have stitched together two outstanding performances behind sensational pitching.

Derek Holland went toe to toe with Dallas Keuchal and muted a thunderous lineup for 5 2/3 innings on Tuesday. Dutch Oven allowed three runs on five hits and consistently bandaged self-inflicted wounds with seven free passes.

Miguel Gonzalez has been the last vestige of consistency on an evolving rotation. Gonzo posted quality starts in four of his last five appearances and stifled the Astros for eight innings on Wednesday. A solo home run in the eighth was the only run to cross the plate against Gonzalez and the right-hander only needed 105 pitches to get the win.

The Astros have an explosive lineup, even without Correa, and despite plating four runs in two games the White Sox offense has been equally exciting over the past several games.

Since his promotion, Nicky Delmonico is batting .400 with five runs batted in and one home run. In eight games in the big leagues, Delmonico has seemed to catalyze a catatonic lineup.

Since the start of the Boston series, Nicky Delmonico has 11 hits and 2 walks in six games.

Tim Anderson has shown signs of life in August batting .314 with two home runs and six runs batted in. Anderson is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak and is 7 for 17 the past four games.

Meanwhile, Yoan Moncada is finding other ways to be productive besides belting doubles and homers. The White Sox Cuban savior is batting .389 in August behind a slew of walks. Moncada has earned seven free passes over the last six games while logging two multi-hit games. Given his propensity to strike out, Moncada’s patience is paying off while demonstrating a mature approach at the plate.

Since the start of the Boston series, Moncada has 7 hits and 7 walks over six games

The fate of the sweep will be placed in the capable hands of Carlos Rodon on Thursday. If the southpaw has his best stuff he can breeze through the best lineups, but if he loses his command it could be a long night of baseball on the south side of Chicago.

The Astros have only been swept twice this season and the White Sox have swept one series in 2017. In a season lost to rebuilding, wouldn’t it be exciting to watch the rookies lead the way in a series sweep? …I know, shallow cause for enthusiasm.